Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians has a strict policy for his assistants when it comes to family time.
Arians took over the Bucs this offseason, but he also apparently doesn’t want his assistants around too much if it means missing events their kids are in. (RELATED: August Is Officially The Start Of College Football)
The Bucs head coach recently told Peter King the following about his policy:
I told my coaches in our first meeting, ‘If you miss a ballgame, a recital, anything to do with your children, I’ll fire you.’ Because I missed a lot of mine. And those years don’t come back. There’s plenty of time in this office to work; you can come back at midnight if you want to. But don’t miss that recital, don’t miss that game. Those things mean so much to your children and it means so much to you. The games I did get to see my son play, I know he felt different, and I don’t want those guys to ever miss that.
Look, I understand the point Arians is making here. I really do. I wouldn’t want anybody to think I don’t. I do totally get it.
Family time is important, being there for your kid is important and all that good stuff. I’m very pro-family. You might not find somebody as pro-family as I am.
Having said all of that, this is an insanely stupid stance. Men who coach in the NFL understand what they’re signing up for.
They know fully well the beast they’re voluntarily signing up for. The NFL pays insanely well, but it is also demanding.
If it comes to seeing little Johnny’s third grade play or winning a Super Bowl, you can bet the house I’m choosing the latter.
Johnny can cry about it on his brand new jet skis.
NFL coaches are in a position to provide for their families in a way most Americans will never understand. I think they can miss a recital or two along the way if it means being able to stack up money for college, houses, the future and more.
The kid probably sucks at acting anyways. These are the facts and they don’t care about your feelings.
I don’t want to call Arians soft. I’ll let the situation speak for itself, but there’s no doubt his standard is insane.